Yet what made someone a “criminal” was much less clear. Under one federal program, the government took significant cues from local police. When officers arrested a person, whether for a serious felony or a traffic infraction, they would check his immigration status and file a “detainer” with DHS for federal agents to take that person into custody if he lacked legal status. There was barely any oversight of the arresting officers, who were often responding to local political pressures. In Las Vegas, for example, 70 percent of these detainers involved people who had committed violent crimes or
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